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The Windows 10 update will automatically turn your computer into a listening device which records your voice and typing data.

Ever since Windows 10 landed in 2015, voice assistant Cortana has been able to record your voice commands so it can recognise you.

It’s also recorded keyboard strokes and stored them in a user dictionary so it can understand names and words you use.

Internet history is tracked in the Edge browser, too – even if you delete your history.

But canny users were able to toggle their settings so their lives in front of the screen – and let’s face it, that’s a lot of our life – weren’t being tracked.

The new update has reset these preferences and handed the tech giant greater powers than before.

You can turn this off at any time in Start > Settings > Privacy > Speech, inking & typing.

Simply click to turn it off.

What is Microsoft recording?

Along with your web history, keyboard strokes and location data, Microsoft will begin collecting more about you to improve its artificial intelligence.

It has a speech recognition feature (available through the Windows Speech Recognition Desktop app), and cloud-based speech recognition service that was introduced alongside Cortana.

Microsoft says: “The Speech recognition setting allows Microsoft to collect and use your voice recordings to provide you with cloud-based speech recognition services in Cortana, supported Store apps, and over time in other parts of Windows.

“As part of that service, we also collect information from the user dictionary created on your device.

“This user dictionary stores unique words like names you write, which helps you type and ink more accurately.

“Both the voice data and the user dictionary are used in the aggregate to help improve our ability to correctly recognise all users’ speech.”

It’s not the only company listening in.

Artificially intelligent voice assistants have become increasingly popular products among technology firms, with Samsung announcing its own assistant, Bixby, to rival Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s voice assistant and Apple’s Siri.

It’s important never to ignore updates because they often fix holes that could let hackers attack you.

But you should always customise them so the settings suit you.

The Creators Update has a brand spanking new version of Windows Defender which aims to keep nasty viruses at bay.

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